Bentenmaru
The Bentenmaru is a space pirate ship that belongs to the Bentenmaru Pirates. Its former captain was Gonzaemon Kato and its current captain is Marika Kato. Design The design of the Bentenmaru differs considerably between the light novels and the anime. Light Novel Design Exterior Colour Scheme The ship is primarily a purple-grey colour, with dull yellow segments. A pirate emblem is located on the side of the middle hull. Anime Design Exterior In the anime, the Bentenmaru has a cone and cylinder shaped main body, commonly associated with rockets, with four fins at the rear. The nose cone has several panels over it which pull back when the ship performs FTL jumps Sailing 18 or deploys the frontal pulse weapon Sailing 20. A small probe is also located at the front. Just behind the cone, before the bridge, there is a retractable launch platform for probes and beam dispersers Sailing 24. The bridge is located near the front of the ship. During battle stations, the bridge's roof lowers and shutters seal it off. Located behind the bridge, on the upper starboard and port sides, are two turrets, each with three cannons and covers. There is also a similar, single cover on the underside of the ship around this section, possibly a third turret with just one cannon . There are two docking bays attached to the main body, behind the turrets and ahead of the fins, one on each side of the ship. The starboard bay is larger than the port one. At the rear of the ship are several engines that provide thrust. On top of the ship, there is a large booster built into a fin. On the horizontal plane, there are two diagonal fins with smaller engines suspended at the ends. The external engines are cylindrical and have a cone extruding at the front. The central engine has four nozzles whilst the rest have one. On the underside of the hull is a smaller, cut-off fin with a rectractable antenna mast with several panels. The ship has various sub-thrusters located across it to help it manoveur. There are also anchors to keep the ship moored Sailing 11. Interior Bridge The bridge consists of two levels. The lower level is where the steering wheel is located as well as the consoles for navigation, electronic warfare, radar and sensors, and the engines. The upper level is where the captain's seat is located as well as the console for the weaponry. The lower level is accessed by a set of stairs located below the upper level where the captain's seat is, and the upper level is accessed by a door located on the side of the display behind the captain's seat. During battle stations, the roof and the upper level are lowered, and shutters block the windows. The view outside the ship is then shown on the visual display on the ceiling. Captain's Room The captain's room is a long rectangular room which has a wooden border, a red carpet down the middle and a ceiling with several window strips that give a view of space outside the ship. The captain's chair is located at one end of the room with a desk in front of it and the Bentenmaru's flag on the wall behind it. The desk has a built-in holographic display with a number of secret files that can be accessed with the captain's ID ring. Ahead of it is a table with two benchs either side. There is a door near the corner of the room behind the captain's seat (to their left). On the wall to the left of the captain's seat, there is a display with various pirate weapons, a steering wheel and a skull with a pirate hat. Near the wall is a barrel. On the wall to the right of the captain's seat, there is a blackboard and near it is a chest. Lighting is provided by a line of lights on the ceiling beam along the middle of the room and from two lamps in the corners, on the wall behind the captain's seat. Other Rooms Other rooms on the ship include the infirmary, armory, a large cafeteria, a simulator room, a dojo and various cabins (with bunkbeds) and locker-rooms. Upgrades During an encounter with the Grand Cross, the Bentenmaru received considerable damage and needed repairing on arrival at the Pirate's Nest Sailing 24. While repairs were being made, the ship was upgraded in preparation for the upcoming battle between the pirates and the Grand Cross. Three extending antenna rods were installed near the front and two extra rows of panels were added to the antenna mast (as well as more panels on the original row). Two large thrusters were also installed below the horizontal fins Sailing 25. Colour Scheme The Bentenmaru's colour scheme primarily consists of bands of magenta and black, with a silver nose cone and green engine cones. The bridge and turrets are magenta whilst the bays are black/grey. The extra thrusters, installed at the Pirate's Nest, are mostly white with several yellow bands, a silver cone and a grey nozzle cover. The emblem of the Bentenmaru Pirates is painted on the side on the black band below the bridge and on side the upper engine. The ship's name is written just below the bridge and on the docking bays. Technology & Combat Characteristics Weapons and Arsenal The primary weapons of the Bentenmaru are two sets of cannons mounted on turrets on the upper port and starboard side of the ship just behind the bridge. Each turret has three cannons and can be operated from both the turret Sailing 10 and the bridge Sailing 15. The cannons are covered while not in use. As well as damaging enemy ships, the cannons can also fire beams to disrupt sensors Sailing 10 and forcibly transmit messages Sailing 09. The ship is also equipped with anti-matter missiles which can be used to clear stardust Sailing 10, reconnaissance drones for gathering information Sailing 10, decoys Sailing 10, beam dispersers Sailing 24. There is also a pulse weapon installed in the nose Sailing 20 On board the ship, aside from the firearms in the armoury, there is also sleeping gas for subduing intruders Sailing 07. Engines The primary thrust comes from four engines at the rear of the ship, one central and three external. The sub-thrusters across the ship allow it to manoveur. The engines have limiters built into them that can be released when maximum thrust is required Sailing 11. When in operation, their emissions have a magenta hue Sailing 15. The Bentenmaru has two converter reactors used for FTL jumps; alpha and beta. They are quite old and difficult to use - beta in particular is difficult to get a stable output out of Sailing 15. Two additional boosters were installed at Pirate's Nest for the battle with the Grand Cross. Electronic Warfare, Radar and Sensors The Bentenmaru possesses capacity for Electronic Warfare and is capable of jamming. With the upgrades made at the Pirate Nest, sensor and radar systems were upped by 20%. It allowed the Bentenmaru to synchronise systems with the other pirate ships and produce an accurate map of the battle area. When the Bentenmaru performs a radar scan, a blue pulse is emitted from the antenna mast. Other Systems The ship also has an artifical gravity system. All of the ship's systems can be controlled using the captain's security ring. History The Bentenmaru was one of the Original Seven, the first seven pirate ships to receive Letters of Marque from the Sea of the Morning Star government during the War of Independence, and is one of the survivors of the group. Recruitment Arc At the start of the series, the ship's captain, Gonzaemon Kato passed away due to food poisoning, after which the ship's license entered a grace period. By law, only his direct descendant could inherit the Letter of Marque, so two members of the crew, Kane McDougal and Misa Grandwood, approached his daughter, Marika, with the offer of becoming captain. During this time, several factions were targetting Marika due to being in a position to inherit the Bentenmaru, so the crew kept an eye on her, with Kane and Misa going undercover at Hakuoh Academy. During the Odette II's practice cruise, the Bentenmaru was monitoring the ship, flying with its transponder off, trying to avoid detection by the Odette II. Kane, aboard the Odette II, also communicated with the ship on an encrypted line regarding a ghost ship that had been picked up during an earlier radar scan Sailing 04. When the Odette II was attacked by the Lightning 11, the Bentenmaru and the Barbaroosa, together with several Stellar Military ships, arrived shortly after the Lightning 11's gunners had been incapacitated by reflected light from the Odette II's solar panels. Both pirate ships then opened fire on the attacker Sailing 05. After Marika received her Letter of Marque, she travelled to the Bentenmaru to begin her training. In order for her to get practical experience, the crew arranged a raid on the liner Princess Apricot. The Bentenmaru ambushed the ship and carried out the planned raid with little difficulty. It then rendezvoused with the Barbaroosa so Chiaki Kurihara (who had joined Marika for training) could return to her ship. Golden Ghost Ship Arc Some time after Marika became captain, the Bentenmaru took a sudden job involving a raid on the Symphony Angel, with an additional mock battle against the ship's Corback-class escorts. After ambushing the ship and initiating jamming, the Bentenmaru exchanged fire with the three Corbacks. After several warning shots, both the escorts and the liner surrendered, allowing the Bentenmaru crew to board the Symphony Angel. However, during the raid, the Bentenmaru's security systems were temporarily overriden and someone stowed away onboard. The crew realised that they had picked up a stowaway shortly after they had left, and as the stowaway refused to speak to anyone other than the captain, contacted Marika Sailing 07. After learning of Gonzaemon's passing, the stowaway introduced herself as Princess Gruier Serenity and asked for the Bentenmaru's help in finding the Golden Ghost Ship. A few days later, the Bentenmaru received a request from the escort fleet's command to investigate an unknown ship approaching the Tau system (identified by Gruier as a Serenity ship bringing data on the ghost ship). As there were signs that there was more than one ship and that they were engaged in combat, the crew went to battle stations as the Bentenmaru arrived in the area where the ship was expected to arrive. Shortly afterwards a Serenity Corback touched down, damaged and using its combat radar, followed by several other Serenity ships Sailing 08. All of the ships displayed high energy readings and combat radar signals. After having their tranponder data transmitted, Marika ordered full power to sensors and radar, and to initiate combat logging, transmitting to an off-site backup as the Serenity ships were putting a lot of power into jamming them. Assessing the situation, with one ship heading for the Sea of the Morning Star and five ships pursuing, likely to silence any witnesses, Marika decided to have Gruier address the Serenity ships. The Bentenmaru locked onto the six ships and fired transmission beams, forcibly transmitting Gruier's orders for them to stand down. Immediately afterwards, the Serenity ships ceased combat functions. The Bentenmaru received two messages, one from Grand Chamberlain Yotof aboard the damaged Corback, the other from the battleship's captain. After sending messages to the ships in the princess's name, the Bentenmaru proceeded to dock with the Corback while the other ships stood down and returned to formation. Once Yotof delivered his cargo, the ships undocked and the Serenity vessels departed. After decoding the information on the Golden Ghost Ship and learning of the course it was likely taking, the Bentenmaru left the Sea of the Morning Star and headed for the area the ghost ship was likely to be at Sailing 09. Some time into the voyage, the Bentenmaru was traversing a stormy nebula thick with dust and rough gravity waves. Moving towards a break in the storm, the ship launched a number of recon probes to gather data. While the captain was off the bridge, the crew discovered an operational observational network of probes left by previous search teams from Serenity and with a fair amount of work managed to crack the security to access it, clearing up the unclear space considerably. The network also indicated that there were other ships in the area, likely battleship class. The next day, the observational buoys detected a large spatial irregularity about six light years from the Bentenmaru. The ship made an FTL jump to where the irregularity was and emerged in stormy space. The anti-matter missiles launched ahead to clear the space became misalligned so there were a number of fusion blasts on the hull. The crew soon realised that the spatial irregularity didn't originate there and that the source was actually in motion. As they were alligning the data they received with the data from the buoys to predict the next irregularity, radar signals were detected. As the Bentenmaru was distant and in passive scanning mode, the crew suspected that they might not have been detected by the other ships, though that would change if they switched to active scanning. However as they were thinking about slipping through, a cross-field was detected, meaning that they couldn't escape detection. Schnitzer launched a number of decoys on random courses to confuse the other ships, though he doubted they would be effective if they were careful enough to use a cross-field. On the radar, there were three groups of ships, the closest being a pair of escorts moving towards the Bentenmaru. Marika ordered the ship to reverse course and meet the two escorts, getting as close as possible and firing a dispersal shot to damage their sensors and armour. As they neared the targets, they initiated jamming and prepared to fire. The ships were then identified as Serenity Corbacks but Marika didn't change her plan. Once they were within range, the Corbacks opened fire on the Bentenmaru. Dodging the beams, the Bentenmaru fired dispersal shots at the Corbacks at close range, damaging their sensors and surveillance equipment, before accelerating away. The Corbacks fired some shots at the Bentenmaru, but they were deflected by chaff deployed by the escaping ship. They made no attempt to pursue Sailing 10. The Bentenmaru continued on through the turbulent space. As they reached a clearing, Marika sent Gruier with Misa to try on a spacesuit, then discussed with her crew what the Serenity fleet was up to and her plans. Deciding on their course of action, Marika informed the crew that the ship was about to make an FTL jump and that they might be involved in a firefight with a battleship on touchdown. After preparations, the Bentenmaru performed the FTL jump towards the location where the next space-time quake was expected. The ship touched down in turbulent space, on the other side of the space-time quake from where the Serenity ships were. Two reconnaisance probes were detected, likely in active scanning mode, but they were ignored. The quake was different from the previous ones, with high energy concentrations and space-time vibrations. Not long after touchdown, an intense gravity source was detected, with alarmingly high readings. The Bentenmaru took evasive action but was unable to evade completely. The ship was shaken as the gravity ring passed by, though not as much as the crew had feared. Looking to find out what was causing a gravity source with no accompanying matter moving at half the speed of light, Coorie found a spatial rip where the ring had originated. As it could tear the ship apart, the crew acted to get the ship away from the spatial rip. Once the limiters were removed, the Bentenmaru moved away at full speed. A large shockwave was emitted from the rift as space was being torn apart, and the ship was severely shaken by the impact. The crew then focused their efforts on stabilising the ship rather than fleeing. As another shockwave hit the ship, they caught sight of the Golden Ghost Ship emerging from the spatial rip. As the ghost ship emerged, Marika noticed distortions in the space around it. High energy readings at the same time indicated that the rift distortion was going to be released. Coorie suggested that they minimise their profile towards the ghost ship as the shockwave was going to be as big as a supernova. Kane brought the ship around to take the impact from the bow. The ship was hit by several energy streams, overloading its onboard systems, but ultimately withstood them. Once in stable space, the crew quickly brought the main systems back online to get the ship moving again. As they had been isolated before the overload, radar and sensors systems were OK but the communications and weapon systems needed reconfiguring. As the Bentenmaru approached the Golden Ghost Ship, the Serenity ships moved towards them. When the ship's communication systems were back online, they found the flagship was hailing them. Gruier answered the message and had a visual confrontation with her sister Grunhilde. Just as they had finished, the ghost ship suddenly performed a high energy radar scan, followed by a communication. After the Bentenmaru sent a correct identification response, the ghost ship's docking port opened. Moving to dock with the ghost ship before the escort ships, the Bentenmaru went ahead at combat speed with the antenna masts withdrawn, going in backwards. The ship scraped the docking port and hit the buffers but didn't suffer major damage. After the doors closed, another space-time quake occured, indicating that the ghost ship was returning to subspace. The Bentenmaru launched its anchors and the crew prepared for the impact Sailing 11. Once the quake had ended, a group went on an EVA to repair any damage that the ship had sustained, while another group ventured inside the ghost ship. After the events that unfolded inside the ghost ship and the ship's return to Serenity, the Bentenmaru undocked and set a course for the Sea of the Morning Star Sailing 12. However, on receiving an urgent message from Gruier, the ship reversed course and headed back to Serenity Sailing 13. Hakuoh Pirates Arc Nebula Cup Arc (Anime Only) Pirate Hunter Arc (Anime Only) Three Ships Arc (Novel Only) Known Crew of the Bentenmaru *Marika Kato (captain) *Kane McDougal (helmsman) *Misa Grandwood (medic) *Hyakume (radar and sensor specialist) *Coorie (electronic warfare specialist) *Schnitzer (tactical officer) *San-Daime (engineer) *Luca (navigator) Uniform Some crew members on the Bentenmaru wear a two-toned jacket (blue for males, purple for females) with the secondary emblem (a stylised circular skill with crossbones behind it and a cross on top) on the back and left upper chest, a belt with several pouches attached and grey trousers. Other members wear a bandana with the emblem, shirt, trousers and sometimes a brown sleeveless jacket with the emblem on the left upper chest. Former Crew *Ririka Kato *Gonzaemon Kato (captain) References Category: Ships Category:Pirate Ships Category:Articles requiring plot summaries